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Файл:Английский язык для студентов программы подготовки «Мультимедийные цифровые технологии в креативных индустриях» = English for “Multimedia digital tech
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or consume an entertainment product passively, such as when they attend
a performance.
Entertainment industry, which is informally known as show
business or show biz, is part of the tertiary sector of the economy and
includes a large number of sub-industries devoted to entertainment.
However, the term is often used in the mass media to describe the mass
media companies that control the distribution and manufacture of mass
media entertainment. In the popular parlance, the term show biz
in particular connotes the commercially popular performing arts,
especially musical theatre, vaudeville, comedy, film, and music.
It applies to every aspect of entertainment including cinema, television,
radio, theatre and music.
Although kings, rulers and powerful people have always been able
to pay for entertainment to be provided for them and in many cases have
paid for public entertainment, people generally have made their own
entertainment or when possible, attended a live performance.
Technological developments in the 20th century meant that entertainment
could be produced independently of the audience, packaged and sold on
a commercial basis by an entertainment industry. Sometimes referred to as
show business, the industry relies on business models to produce, market,
broadcast or otherwise distribute many of its traditional forms, including
performances of all types. The industry became so sophisticated that
its economics became a separate area of academic study.
The film industry is a part of the entertainment industry. Components
of it include the Hollywood and Bollywood film industries, as well as the
cinema of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and
all the cinemas of Europe, including such countries as France, Germany,
Spain, Italy, etc.
Amusement parks entertain paying guests with rides, such as roller
coasters, train rides, water rides, and dark rides, as well as other events and
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associated attractions. The parks are built on a large area subdivided into
themed areas named “lands”. Sometimes the whole amusement park
is based on one theme, such as the various Sea World parks that focus
on the theme of sea life.
One of the consequences of the development of the entertainment
industry has been the creation of new types of employment. While jobs
such as writer, musician and composer exist as they always have, people
doing this work are likely to be employed by a company rather than
a patron as they once would have been. New jobs have appeared, such
as gaffer or special effects supervisor in the film industry, and attendants
in an amusement park.
Prestigious awards are given by the industry for excellence in the
various types of entertainment. For example, there are awards for Music,
Games (including video games), Comics, Comedy, Theatre, Television,
Film, Dance and Magic. Sporting awards are made for the results and skill,
rather than for the entertainment value.
II. Read the text again answer the following questions.
1. How is entertainment industry defined? What are its constituent
parts?
2. How is the term “entertainment industry” used in the mass media?
3. What does the term “show biz” refer to in everyday life?
4. What developments allow to produce entertainment independently
of audiences?
5. What are the main components of the film industry?
6. What ways are the guests of the amusement parks entertained in?
7. What are the consequences of the development of the
entertainment industry?
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Emma Duncan discusses the potential effects
on the entertainment industry of the digital revolution
A. Since moving pictures were invented a century ago, a new way
of distributing entertainment to consumers has emerged about once
every generation. Each such innovation has changed the industry
irreversibly; each has been accompanied by a period of fear mixed with
exhilaration. The arrival of digital technology, which translates music,
pictures and text into the zeros and ones of computer language, marks
one of those periods.
B. This may sound familiar, because the digital revolution, and the
explosion of choice that would go with it, has been heralded for some
time. In 1992, John Malone, chief executive of TCI, an American cable
giant, welcomed the ‘500-channel universe’. Digital television was about
to deliver everything except pizzas to people’s living rooms. When the
entertainment companies tried out the technology, it worked fine — but
not at a price that people were prepared to pay.
C. Those 500 channels eventually arrived but via the Internet and the
PC rather than through television. The digital revolution was starting to
affect the entertainment business in unexpected ways. Eventually it will
change every aspect of it, from the way cartoons are made to the way films
are screened to the way people buy music. That much is clear. What
nobody is sure of is how it will affect the economics of the business.
D. New technologies always contain within them both threats and
opportunities. They have the potential both to make the companies in the
business a great deal richer, and to sweep them away. Old companies
always fear new technology. Hollywood was hostile to television,
television terrified by the VCR. Go back far enough, points out Hal Varian,
an economist at the University of California at Berkeley, and you find
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publishers complaining that ‘circulating libraries’ would cannibalise their
sales. Yet whenever a new technology has come in, it has made more
money for existing entertainment companies. The proliferation of the
means of distribution results, gratifyingly, in the proliferation of dollars,
pounds, pesetas and the rest to pay for it.
E. All the same, there is something in the old companies’ fears. New
technologies may not threaten their lives, but they usually change their
role. Once television became widespread, film and radio stopped being the
staple form of entertainment. Cable television has undermined the power
of the broadcasters. And as power has shifted the movie studios, the radio
companies and the television broadcasters have been swallowed up. These
days, the grand old names of entertainment have more resonance than
power. Paramount is part of Viacom, a cable company; Universal, part of
Seagram, a drinks-and-entertainment company; MGM, once the roaring
lion of Hollywood, has been reduced to a whisper because it is not part of
one of the giants. And RCA, once the most important broadcasting
company in the world, is now a recording label belonging to Bertelsmann,
a large German entertainment company.
F. Part of the reason why incumbents got pushed aside was that they
did not see what was coming. But they also faced a tighter regulatory
environment than the present one. In America, laws preventing television
broadcasters from owning programme companies were repealed earlier
this decade, allowing the creation of vertically integrated businesses.
Greater freedom, combined with a sense of history, prompted the smarter
companies in the entertainment business to re-invent themselves. They saw
what happened to those of their predecessors who were stuck with one
form of distribution.
So, these days, the powers in the entertainment business are no
longer movie studios, or television broadcasters, or publishers; all those
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businesses have become part of bigger businesses still, companies that can
both create content and distribute it in a range of different ways.
G. Out of all this, seven huge entertainment companies have
emerged — Time Warner, Walt Disney, Bertelsmann, Viacom, News Corp,
Seagram and Sony. They cover pretty well every bit of the entertainment
business except pornography. Three are American, one is Australian, one
Canadian, one German and one Japanese. ‘What you are seeing’, says
Christopher Dixon, managing director of media research at PaineWebber,
a stockbroker, ‘is the creation of a global oligopoly.
It happened to the oil and automotive businesses earlier this century;
now it is happening to the entertainment business.’ It remains to be seen
whether the latest technology will weaken those great companies, or make
them stronger than ever.
I. Read the text and decide which paragraph (A–G) mentions the
following (Questions 1–8). Some of the paragraphs will be used more
than once.
1. ____ the contrasting effects that new technology can have
on existing business.
2. ____ the fact that a total transformation is going to take place in
the future in the delivery of all forms of entertainment.
3. ____ the confused feelings that people are known to have
experienced in response to technological innovation.
4. ____ the fact that some companies have learnt from the mistakes
of others.
5. ____ the high cost to the consumer of new ways of distributing
entertainment.
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6. ____ the uncertainty regarding the financial impact of wider
media access.
7. ____ the fact that some companies were the victims of strict
government policy.
8. ____ the fact that the digital revolution could undermine the giant
entertainment companies.
II. Match the people or companies (A–D) with the points made
in Questions 1–8 about the introduction of new technology.
1. ____ Historically, new forms of distributing entertainment have
alarmed those well-established in the business.
2. ____ The merger of entertainment companies follows a pattern
evident in other industries.
3. ____ Major entertainment bodies that have remained independent
have lost their influence.
4. ____ News of the most recent technological development was
published some years ago.
A. John Malone
B. Hal Valarian
C. MGM
D. Christopher Dixon
III. Choose the best option for two questions.
1. How does the writer put across his views on the digital
revolution?
A By examining the forms of media that will be affected by it.
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B By analysing the way entertainment companies have reacted to it.
C By giving a personal definition of technological innovation.
D By drawing comparisons with other periods of technological
innovation.
2. Which of the following best summarises the writer’s views
in the text?
A The public should cease resisting the introduction of new
technology.
B Digital technology will increase profits in the entertainment
business.
C Entertainment companies should adapt to technological
innovation.
D Technological change only benefits big entertainment companies.
WATCHING
Watch a video https://www.ted.com/talks/alexander_barclay_
entertainment_community_technology_time_to_take_our_fun_serious
ly?subtitle=en and answer the following questions:
1. Have you ever thought to yourself that it’s very long day?
2. Can you describe your feelings when you are tired very much?
3. Do you have any ritual before going to bed? Telephone watching
or smth, more for relaxing?
4. How much time do you spend on the phone during a day?
Your purposes?
5. What is entertainment especially for you?
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6. What did the author say about the community?
7. Do you prefer visiting theatre or cinema?
8. What role does technology play in our life?
TALKING POINT
In group, discuss the following questions.
1. How do you entertain or amuse yourself most often?
2. What do you do for entertainment when you’re on holiday that
you don’t usually do?
3. How popular is live music in your hometown? When was the last
time you went to a concert or live show?
4. Who is the most popular entertainer of the 21st century?
5. What entertainment industry services do you usually buy?
WRITING
Write an essay about your opinion on the topic “The impact of AI on
jobs in the entertainment industry”.
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UNIT 3. FILM INDUSTRY
LEAD-IN
In group, discuss the following questions.
1. Are you fond of watching films/movies? How often do you go to
the cinema?
2. What film genre do you like best and least?
3. Do you prefer foreign films or films made in your country?
4. What is the worst film you’ve ever seen? What made it so terrible?
5. Do you have a favourite actor/actress? Why is he/she your
favourite?
VOCABULARY
I. Complete the following definitions with the words and phrases
from the wordlist.
Wordlist
1. revenue (n)
2. a feature film (n)
3. a motion picture (n)
4. a movie theatre (n)
5. home video (n)
6. cable (n)
7. pay-per-view (n)
8. ancillary market (n)
9. a low budget movie (n)
10. profit (n)
11. foreign territories (n)
12. domestic territories (n)
13. a film studio (n)
14. cinematography (n)
15. screenwriting (n)
16. pre-production (n)
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17. post production (n)
18. a film festival (n)
19. export (n)
20. a film director (n)
21. film personnel (n)
22. a screenplay (n)
23. principal photography (n)
24. independents (n)
25. a producer (n)
26. an ownership interest (n)
27. a theatrical
exhibition/exposure (n)
28. word-of-mouth
advertising (n)
29. an exhibitor (n)
30. a distributor (n)
31. craft (n)
32. a digital camera (n)
33. workforce (n)
34. shooting (n)
35. 3-D (adj)
36. a freelancer (n)
37. an entrant (n)
38. downloading (n)
39. film piracy (n)
1. The art or technique of movie photography, including both the
shooting and development of the film — _______________________
2. A device (e.g. camera) that can read, write, or store information
that is presented in numerical form — _______________________
3. A service offered by cable television companies that allows
subscribers to view special programmes for an additional charge —
____________________
4. A movie with images having three-dimensional form or
appearance; it looks as if it has length, depth and width —
_______________________
5. Musical or theatrical performances usually held regularly in
a particular place — _______________________
6. A person who is not permanently employed by a particular
company, but sells their services to more than one company —
_______________________
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